By Francesca Hangeior
French security forces began locking down large parts of central Paris on Thursday ahead of the hugely complex Olympics opening ceremony next week on the river Seine.
The opening parade along six kilometres (four miles) of the river led to the closure of riverside central districts to most vehicles from 5:00 am (0300 GMT) on Thursday.
Anyone wanting to enter the highest-security “grey zone” along both banks of the Seine, such as residents or tourists with hotel reservations in the area, will need a security pass in the form of a QR code.
With the opening ceremony just eight days away, the City of Light is transforming ahead of the Games when around 10 million spectators are expected
Temporary sports stadiums have sprung up at popular locations such as the Eiffel Tower, the Invalides or the Place de la Concorde, while new Olympic VIP lanes are the latest traffic-snarling addition.
“We’re entering a very operational phase of hosting the world’s biggest event,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters on Wednesday as he outlined the security measures by the Seine.
Many central Metro stations were also closed on Thursday until the day after the opening ceremony, which will see 6,000-7,000 athletes sail down the Seine on around a hundred barges and riverboats.
It will be the first time a Summer Olympics has opened outside the main athletics stadium, with up to 500,000 people set to watch in person from stands, on the river banks, and from the overlooking apartments.
The vast security operation for the opening ceremony has been giving senior police officers cold sweats ever since it was announced in 2021 because of the difficulty of protecting so many spectators in such a large, densely packed urban area.
Around 45,000 officers are set to be on duty for the July 26 parade, assisted by 1,900 foreign police, as well as 10,000 French soldiers and thousands of private security agents.
The installation of tens of thousands of metal security barriers all along the opening ceremony route in Paris and around the temporary venues has outraged some Parisians, who feel closed in or find their routes on foot or by bike blocked.
“It’s a bit like being in Planet of the Apes,” Aissa Yago, who lives on the Ile Saint Louis in central Paris, told AFP this week from behind a barrier. “All they need to do is throw us some peanuts.”
The concept for the Paris Games — of using the historic city centre as a backdrop for the sport rather than moving the events out of the city — has caused complaints and led many wealthy residents to flee.